Battle of #1 and #2 to take place on March 21 in Long Beach.

MALIBU, Calif. - The #1 Pepperdine women’s sand volleyball team faces #2 Long Beach State at the LBSU Sand Courts this Thursday, March 21 at 1 p.m. The last time the two teams met, the Waves defeated the 49ers to win the inaugural AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship.

FIND IT - The 49ers’ sand volleyball courts are found on campus, located along the first base side of the baseball diamond past the Walter Pyramid. Fans can park in Lot 13 and make the short walk to the courts. Admission is free. Click here for a campus map.

LOOKING BACK - The Waves swept the team and individual honors at the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. ... Pepperdine bounced back from an 0-2 deficit to defeat #4 Florida State 3-2 in the first-ever dual meeting between the programs ... Caitlin Racich and Lara Dykstra clinched the team victory with a 16-14 triumph in the third set that was capped by a Dykstra service ace ... The Waves went on to sweep #9 Nebraska and Grand Canyon ... In the pairs championship, Lilla Frederick and Kim Hill won the Gold Bracket while “Team Kell(i)ey,” comprised of Kelley Larsen and Kellie Woolever, won the Silver Bracket ... Racich and Dykstra, as well as Victoria Adelhelm and Jazmine Orozco, reached the semifinals of their respective brackets.

LONG BEACH STATE - The Waves have faced the 49ers more than any other team and boast a 5-0 series record against the regional rival ... Long Beach State placed second to Pepperdine at the 2012 AVCA National Championship ... The 49ers return their All-American No. 1 duo in Tara Roenicke and Caitlin Ledoux ... LBSU is 4-0 in 2013 having defeated #4 Florida State (4-1), #8 FIU (3-2), Loyola Marymount (5-0) and #3 USC (5-0).

SEASON OPENER - Pepperdine opened the 2013 season with a convincing 5-0 win over #8 Florida International ... Lilla Frederick and Kim Hill held down the top spot in the lineup with a 2-1 (24-22, 18-21, 15-7) victory over Kate Stepanova and Maryna Samoday ... The duos of Lara Dykstra/Caitlin Racich, Kelley Larsen/Kellie Woolever and Victoria Adelhelm/Jazmine Orozco all won in straight sets while Emily Cook and Taylor Racich prevailed in three.

NO. 1 - Fifth-year seniors Lilla Frederick and Kim Hill are playing at the top of the Waves’ lineup so far in 2013, and are the only pair who was together last season in 2012 ... Frederick and Hill boast a career-record of 33-9 including 18-4 in dual action ... Both Frederick and Hill picked up AVCA All-American honors last year ... Hill earned AVCA All-American first team accolades during the 2011 indoor season making her the first and to date only student-athlete to be awarded AVCA All-American first team recognition in both indoor and sand volleyball during the same academic year.

PEPPERDINE TRADITION - Pepperdine is no stranger to winning national titles. Since 1947, the Waves have won 21 various championships. At the NCAA level, Pepperdine has claimed nine team championships (Men’s Volleyball, 5; Baseball, 1; Men’s Golf, 1; Men’s Water Polo, 1; Men’s Tennis, 1) and three individual titles (men’s tennis: 2 doubles champions, 1 singles champion). The Waves have also won national team and individual titles at the NAIA level back in the 1950’s and clinched its first championship when the now defunct football team won the 1947 Small College crown. The Waves’ 2012 AVCA National Championship titles, both the team and the pairs, were Pepperdine’s first national championships captured by any of its women’s teams.

ZUMA BEACH - The Waves call Zuma Beach “home,” practicing and hosting all home events at one of Malibu’s most picturesque locations. Courts are located just west of Point Dume, near Tower 2 or at the 29800 block of the Pacific Coast Highway.

COMING SOON! - The Waves announced that Delaney Knudson will join the team in 2014. Knudson committed to the Waves back in November and is the program’s first National Letter of Intent signee. A product of Valencia, Calif., Knudson has held a AAA rating in the California Beach Volleyball Association rankings since the age of 16.

Nina Matthies - Nina Matthies’ just completed her 30th season as head coach for the indoor team and boasts a career record of 575-332 (.634), which includes 10 conference championships and 20 NCAA Tournament appearances. She is by far the WCC’s all-time winningest coach and is a 10-time WCC Coach of the Year. Matthies was among the world’s top players and is a member of the Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame. In 2009, Dig Magazine rated her and former partner Linda Hanley as the second-best women’s beach team of all time. She won two AIAW national championships as a player at UCLA.

Marcio Sicoli - Marcio Sicoli is in his second season assisting Matthies in the sand after just completing his fifth season on the sidelines for the indoor team. Sicoli is highly lauded for his approach to training and served as head coach for Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings during their gold-medal run at the 2012 London Olympics. Sicoli also served as the assistant coach for the Brazilian Olympic Women’s Beach Volleyball Team from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, his team of Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede took home the silver medal in Athens.

THE FORMAT - This week Pepperdine will compete in a dual format, similar to college tennis, where the No. 1 pair from one school plays the No. 1 pair from the opposing school, No. 2 vs. No. 2 and so on and so forth. A team must win three of the five matches in order to clinch the team victory.

SAND VOLLEYBALL 101 - Each team competition is called a dual and will consist of five pairs from one school versus five pairs from another school. Each match is worth one point towards the team score. In this best-of-five format, a winner is determined when a team scores at least three points (similar to how collegiate tennis duals are contested).

The separate matches consist of a best-of-three sets, with rally scoring to 21 in the first two sets and to 15 in the third set if necessary. Teams must win by at least two points.

Pairs competitions will also be held this season, with the two-person teams being placed in brackets and playing in single or double elimination tournaments.

VOLLEYBALL HISTORY - The Pepperdine women’s sand volleyball program has been at the forefront of the sport since it was introduced in 2012. The Waves went a perfect 14-0 in dual match play and won the inaugural AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Team Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala. Pepperdine’s Caitlin Racich -- the program’s first-ever scholarship recipient -- and partner Summer Ross took home the pairs national crown as well. Racich and Ross, as well as Kim Hill and Lilla Frederick, were all named to the 10-member inaugural sand volleyball AVCA All-American class. Hill stands as the first, and to date only, student-athlete to earn AVCA All-American first team honors in both indoor and sand volleyball in a single season.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE -Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men’s sports - one of just 16 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest enrollment and is the only school not in a major conference. Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation’s most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #54 overall on U.S. News and World Report’s list of America’s best colleges.